JP2018112896A - Information processor, control method thereof, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system in which when it includes a camera device and a virtual camera device as an image input device, a remote support application can utilize the virtual camera device preferentially by switching suitably the image input device available in accordance with an application.SOLUTION: Disclosed is an information processor communicating with an image forming apparatus via a relay server for providing support to the image forming apparatus remotely. More specifically, the information processor accesses the relay server for establishing a session to support the image forming apparatus. When the session starts, the information processor adds, as a virtual camera device, an image acquiring application for acquiring images by capturing at least a part of a screen displayed on a display unit into the list of camera devices that acquire images, and thus displays the list on the display unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program.

  As trouble handling of products such as image forming apparatuses becomes complicated, it is frequently performed that a user asks a maker's call center and obtains an answer. Patent Document 1 proposes a remote maintenance service between a user's image forming apparatus and a call center in order to quickly deal with troubles. The remote maintenance service is used to support trouble solution from a remote location without an operator on the call center visiting the site when a trouble occurs in the image forming apparatus. Since the time required for movement is eliminated, it is possible to shorten the time until the trouble is solved.

  In such a remote maintenance service, support is provided while showing the operator to the user using a video input by an image input device such as a camera connected to the PC of the operator on the call center side. Patent Document 2 proposes a screen sharing system that solves a problem while a remote center service and an operator on the call center side and a user see the same screen. Operators can solve problems while sharing information with the user by opening various contents useful for troubleshooting on the PC desktop screen and displaying the same contents on the operation unit of the user's image forming apparatus. It has been broken.

  As a method of sharing such a desktop screen, there is a method of registering a virtual camera device in the OS and recognizing that the virtual camera device is connected to the operator's PC. Here, the virtual camera device is a function that does not require an actual camera device, captures part or the whole of the desktop screen of the PC, and inputs the captured image to the PC. The virtual camera device is realized, for example, when a processor of a PC executes software. The image input from the virtual camera device to the PC can be transmitted to the user's MFP via the network in the same manner as the image input from the physical camera device. Since this virtual camera is handled in the same manner as a normal image input device connected to a PC, a plurality of applications can be shared and used in the same way as a normal image input device. This is realized, for example, by registering both a physical camera device and a virtual camera device in a camera library managed by an OS (Operation System) of the PC. An operator who uses a PC can select and use a camera device to be used from the camera library.

JP 2005-208974 A JP 2014-59720 A

  However, the above prior art has the following problems. For example, if the virtual camera device is registered in the OS camera library, other software different from the software for the remote maintenance service can use the virtual camera device. That is, there are a plurality of applications that can use the virtual camera device. Therefore, there is a problem that the remote support application cannot use the virtual camera device while another application is using the virtual camera device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and when having a camera device and a virtual camera device as an image input device, by suitably switching an available image input device according to an application, It is an object to provide a mechanism in which a remote support application can use a virtual camera device with priority.

  The present invention is an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with an image forming apparatus via a relay server, the establishing means for accessing the relay server and supporting the image forming apparatus, and the establishing means When the session is started, an image acquisition application for acquiring an image by capturing at least a part of a screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus is added to a list of camera devices for acquiring an image. An adding means for adding as a camera device, and a display control means for displaying a list of the camera devices on the display section so that the camera devices included in the list can be selected are provided.

  According to the present invention, when the image input device includes a camera device and a virtual camera device, the remote support application gives priority to the virtual camera device by appropriately switching the image input device that can be used according to the application. Can be used.

The figure which shows the network structure which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing a UI of an image input device list according to an embodiment. FIG. The flowchart which shows the process of operator PC concerning one Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process of the relay server which concerns on one Embodiment.

  An embodiment of the present invention is shown below. The individual embodiments described below will help to understand various concepts, such as superordinate concepts, intermediate concepts and subordinate concepts of the present invention. Further, the technical scope of the present invention is established by the claims, and is not limited by the following individual embodiments.

<First Embodiment>
<Network configuration>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, a network configuration of an information processing system that performs remote support according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this system, an image forming apparatus 101, an operator PC 102 as an information processing apparatus, and a relay server 103 are configured to communicate with each other. The image forming apparatus 101 and the operator PC 102 operate as communication partners as apparatuses to which the present invention is applied. The image forming apparatus 101 and the operator PC 102 have a data communication function for performing call control by HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) to perform data communication.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 101 is connected to a network 106 through a firewall (FW) 104. Further, an operator PC 102 on the call center side is connected to the network 106 through the FW 105. In addition, the relay server 103 is connected to the network 106. In HTTP data communication, client nodes perform data communication by making a POST / GET request to a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) provided from the relay server 103. Thereby, data communication can be performed even if the client nodes are blocked by the private address area or FW.

  In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 101 and the operator PC 102 operate as an HTTP client node. In the present embodiment, a configuration in which client nodes communicate with the network 106 via FW will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a network configuration without FW may be applied. Further, more FWs, image forming apparatuses, and operator PCs than shown may be connected to the network 106. In this embodiment, the communication protocol may not be HTTP.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, a hardware configuration of the information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus 101 includes a system control unit 200, an operation panel 212, an image input device 213, a voice input / output device 214, a scanner 215, and a printer 216. The system control unit 200 includes a scanner I / F 201, CPU 202, ROM 203, RAM 204, HDD 205, printer I / F 207, panel operation I / F 208, image input I / F 209, audio input / output I / F 210, and network I / F 211. . Each device can send and receive data to and from each other via the system bus 206.

  The CPU 202 comprehensively controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 206 based on a control program stored in the ROM 203 or the hard disk (HDD) 205. The ROM 203 stores a control program that can be executed by the CPU 202. The RAM 204 mainly functions as a main memory, work area, and the like of the CPU 202, and the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). A hard disk (HDD) 205 stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, and the like. Although the HDD 205 is used in the present embodiment, an SD card or a flash memory may be used as an external storage device in addition to the HDD 205.

  A scanner I / F 201 controls image input from the scanner 215. A printer I / F 207 controls image output to the printer 216. A panel operation I / F 208 controls display control of the operation panel 212 and input of various setting information set on the operation panel 212. An image input I / F 209 controls image input from an image input device 213 such as a camera. The voice input / output I / F 210 controls voice input / output with the voice input / output device 214 such as a headset. The network I / F 211 performs data communication with an external network via a network cable.

  The operator PC 102 includes a control unit 220, a keyboard 231, a display 232, an image input device 233, and a voice input / output device 234. The control unit 220 includes a CPU 221, ROM 222, RAM 223, HDD 224, network I / F 226, keyboard I / F 227, display I / F 228, image input I / F 229, and audio input / output I / F 230.

  The CPU 221 comprehensively controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 225 based on a control program stored in the ROM 222 or the hard disk (HDD) 224. The ROM 222 stores a control program that can be executed by the CPU 221. The RAM 223 mainly functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like of the CPU 221, and the memory capacity can be expanded by an option RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). A hard disk (HDD) 224 stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, and the like. Although the HDD 224 is used in the present embodiment, an SD card or a flash memory may be used as an external storage device in addition to the HDD 224.

  The network I / F 226 performs data communication with an external network via a network cable. A keyboard I / F 227 controls key input from a keyboard 231 or a pointing device (not shown). The display I / F 228 functions as a display control unit and controls display on the display (display unit) 232. The image input I / F 229 controls image input from the image input device 233 such as a camera. The voice input / output I / F 230 controls voice input / output with the voice input / output device 234 such as a headset.

  The relay server 103 includes a CPU 241, a ROM 242, a RAM 243, an HDD 244, and a network I / F 246. The CPU 241 comprehensively controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 245 based on a control program stored in the ROM 242 or the hard disk (HDD) 244. The ROM 242 stores a control program that can be executed by the CPU 241. The RAM 243 mainly functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like of the CPU 241, and the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). A hard disk (HDD) 244 stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, and the like. Although the HDD 244 is used in the present embodiment, an SD card or a flash memory may be used as an external storage device in addition to the HDD 244. The network I / F 246 performs data communication with an external network via a network cable.

<List display of image input device>
Next, a display example of a list of image input devices displayed on the operator PC 102 will be described with reference to FIG. The list 311 of image input devices is a UI that can select any one of items 312 and 313, and the list 321 is a UI that can select any one of items 322, 323, and 324.

  The list 311 is generated from a list of image input devices 233 recognized as being connected to the image input I / F 229 provided by the OS of the operator PC 102. In item 312, a built-in camera can be selected as the image input device 233, and in item 313, a WEB camera can be selected.

  The virtual camera device is a virtual device (image acquisition application) that operates as an image input device connected to the operator PC 102 and acquires at least a part of the screen displayed on the display 232 to acquire an image. Furthermore, the virtual camera device can handle the acquired image in the same manner as other image input devices. In general, when a virtual camera device is used as an image input device, a virtual camera device driver is registered in the OS of the operator PC 102. When the virtual camera device driver is registered in the OS, the virtual camera device is included in the list of the image input devices 233 connected to the image input I / F 229, and the virtual camera device is displayed on the application using the image input device. Selectable. When the virtual camera mechanism is used, images can be acquired and transmitted by the same mechanism as when using an actual camera device, compared to when the application itself acquires and transmits an image without using a virtual camera device. There is an advantage.

  However, when a virtual camera device is registered in the OS, it is virtually defined that the virtual camera device is connected to the image input I / F 229. Therefore, even for applications that do not want to use the virtual camera device, Selection will be possible. Therefore, in order to limit the use of virtual camera devices from other applications while enjoying the advantage that images can be acquired and transmitted by the same mechanism as when using an actual camera device, in this embodiment, virtual The camera device is not registered in the OS.

  Specifically, after obtaining the list 311, the virtual camera device item 324 is added to generate the list 321. In this way, image acquisition and transmission processing can be performed in the same manner, but control can be performed so that the virtual camera device is not used from other applications that do not perform additional processing of the virtual camera device item 324. . The items 322 and 323 are an example of the image input device 233 similar to the items 312 and 313.

  As described above, the operator PC 102 according to the present embodiment displays the image input device registered in the OS and the virtual camera device included in the application in the same list, and any one of the devices used for image sharing from the list. Displays a selection screen where one can be selected. This can also explicitly indicate that multiple devices are not available at the same time. For example, when a camera device is called from an application for realizing remote support, a physical camera device and a virtual camera device are displayed in a list. Accordingly, an operator who uses an application for remote support can select and use either a physical camera device or a virtual camera device.

  Further, by making it impossible to select a plurality of camera devices at the same time in the camera device list display, it is possible to indicate to the operator that a plurality of camera devices cannot be used simultaneously. This is effective when, for example, only one image communication session can be established due to a resource problem between the remote support PC and the supported image forming apparatus. In other words, this is effective for a system in which an image captured by a physical camera device and an image input from a virtual camera device cannot be transmitted to the image forming apparatus in parallel. Or, because the size of the display area of the operation screen of the image forming apparatus is small, it may be difficult to view the image captured by the physical camera device and the image input by the virtual camera device at the same time. Also effective. By causing only the image acquired by one of the plurality of camera devices to be transmitted from the remote support PC, it is possible to prevent images captured by the plurality of camera devices from being simultaneously displayed on the image forming apparatus side. it can.

  On the other hand, when an application other than the application for realizing the remote support uses the camera device in the list, the virtual camera device is not displayed as a selectable camera device. For example, the virtual camera device item may not be displayed, or the item itself may be displayed but not selectable. In this way, it is possible to prevent an application for realizing remote assistance from using the virtual camera device because other applications use the virtual camera device.

  The present invention can be variously modified. For example, when the other application uses a camera device in the list, the operator PC 102 may inquire of the operator whether or not to add a virtual camera device to the list. The inquiry method may be in any form. For example, the operator PC 102 may display a selection screen as to whether or not to add to the display 232. In this case, the operator PC 102 may determine whether to add a virtual camera device according to the inquiry result.

<Processing operation>
Hereinafter, the processing operation of the system according to the present embodiment will be described. Here, a detailed operation of the remote support according to the present embodiment when the operator who operates the operator PC 102 assists in solving a trouble that has occurred in the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. In this embodiment, first, the image forming apparatus 101 accesses the relay server 103 and waits for reception of image data. Next, the operator PC 102 accesses the relay server 103 and starts transmitting image data. As a result, the image forming apparatus 101 can receive the image data and display an image on the operation panel 212. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above start procedure. For example, the remote support may be started by first accessing the image forming apparatus 101 from the operator PC 102.

<Operation of operator PC>
First, the processing procedure of the operator PC 102 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This flowchart is realized by, for example, a program stored in the HDD 224 being read into the RAM 223 and executed by the CPU 221.

  In step S <b> 1101, the CPU 221 of the operator PC 102 transmits a support start request to the relay server 103. When the transmission of the support start request is completed, the CPU 221 receives the support start result from the relay server 103 in S1102. Subsequently, in S1103, the CPU 221 determines whether the support start result received in S1102 is successful. If the support start result is a failure, the process of this flowchart is terminated. On the other hand, if the support start result is successful, the process proceeds to S1104, and the CPU 221 acquires a session ID (SessionID) from the received data. The session ID is an identifier for implementing support issued by the relay server 103.

  When the session ID is acquired, the process advances to step S1105, and the CPU 221 acquires a list of image input devices 233 connected to the image input I / F 229. When the list is acquired, the process advances to step S1106, and the CPU 221 adds a virtual camera device item to the acquired list, and displays the list of image input devices on the UI of the operator PC 102 in step S1107. If no image input device is connected to the operator PC 102 in S1105, the image input device list displayed in S1107 is only the virtual camera device item added in S1106. In S1106, since the processing flow is started with the assistance start request as a trigger, the additional processing is executed assuming that the application to be used is a remote assistance application. However, if there is a possibility of another application, the CPU 221 may determine whether or not the application to be used is a remote support application before S1106. In this case, it is desirable to control so as to end the process if it is not a remote support application, and to execute the process of S1106 if it is a remote support application. Further, even for other applications, virtual camera device addition processing may be executed in the same manner as the remote support application according to the type of the other application. In this case, it is desirable for the CPU 221 to set another application for executing the additional processing in accordance with an operator input. For example, the CPU 221 may display a setting screen for performing the above setting on the display 232 in advance and execute the setting according to an input from the operator before the flowchart is executed.

  In step S <b> 1108, the CPU 221 obtains user operation information and determines which item in the list has been selected. If the selection item determined in S1108 is the virtual camera device added in S1106, the process proceeds to S1109, and the CPU 221 activates the virtual camera application. When the virtual camera application is activated, in S1110, the CPU 221 displays a capture window. The virtual camera application captures a range of the desktop display screen included in the capture window and acquires it as an image. The position of the capture window displayed in S1110 can be moved by dragging with the mouse operation of the operator PC. For example, it can be moved by dragging the title bar of the capture window. In addition, the size of the capture window displayed in S1110 can be changed by operating the mouse of the operator PC 102. For example, the size can be changed by dragging the window frame with the mouse. When the virtual camera application displays the capture window, the image in the capture window displayed in S1110 is transmitted to the virtual camera driver included in the virtual camera application. Thereafter, in step S1111, the CPU 221 acquires a captured image using a virtual camera driver included in the virtual camera application.

  On the other hand, if the selection item acquired in S1108 is an image input device other than the virtual camera device added in S1106, the process proceeds to S1112, and the CPU 221 uses the driver registered in the OS corresponding to the selected image input device to display an image. get. In step S <b> 1113, the CPU 221 transmits an image transmission request to the relay server 103. At this time, the session ID acquired in S1107 and the image data acquired in S1111 or S1112 are included in the transmission data.

  Next, in S1114, the CPU 221 determines whether or not to end the support. This determination may be determined from data received from the image forming apparatus 101 via the relay server 103 or may be determined from an instruction to end support from an operator. When it is determined that the support is to be ended, the process proceeds to S1116, and the CPU 221 transmits a support end request to the relay server 103. At this time, the CPU 221 includes the session ID acquired in S1104 in the transmission data. Subsequently, in S1117, the CPU 221 receives the support end result from the relay server 103, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1114 that the process is not ended, the process advances to step S1115, and the CPU 221 determines whether the image input device currently selected in the list is a virtual camera device. If the selected image input device is the virtual camera device added in S1106, the process returns to S1111 and the processing is continued. If the selected image input apparatus is not a virtual camera device, the process returns to S1112 and continues.

<Operation of Image Forming Apparatus>
Next, a processing procedure of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This flowchart is realized by, for example, reading a program stored in the HDD 205 into the RAM 204 and executing it by the CPU 202.

  In step S <b> 1001, when the flowchart is started, the CPU 202 first transmits a support start request to the relay server 103. When the transmission of the support start request is completed, the CPU 202 receives the support start result from the relay server 103 in S1002. Subsequently, in S1003, the CPU 202 determines whether or not the support start result received in S1002 is successful. If the support start result is a failure, the process of this flowchart is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the support start result is successful, the process proceeds to S1004, and the CPU 202 acquires a session ID from the received data. The session ID is an identifier for implementing support issued by the relay server 103. When the session ID is acquired, the process advances to step S1005, and the CPU 202 transmits an image reception request to the relay server 103. At this time, the CPU 202 includes the session ID acquired in S1004 in the transmission data. When the transmission of the image reception request is completed, the process advances to step S1006, and the CPU 202 receives image data from the relay server 103. Since the reception process of S1006 starts after the operator PC 102 transmits image data, if the operator PC 102 has not transmitted yet, the process waits.

  In step S <b> 1007, the CPU 202 executes processing for displaying the received image data on the operation panel 212. When a predetermined time has elapsed since the display, the CPU 202 determines in step S1008 whether to end the support. This determination may be determined from data received from the operator PC 102 via the relay server 103 or may be determined from an input to the operation panel 212 of the image forming apparatus 101. If it is determined not to end, the process returns to S1005 to further receive image data. If it is determined that the process is to be ended, the process advances to step S1009, and the CPU 202 transmits a support end request to the relay server 103. At this time, the CPU 202 includes the session ID acquired in S1004 in the transmission data. When the transmission of the support end request is completed, the process proceeds to S1010, where the CPU 202 receives the support end result from the relay server 103, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

<Operation of relay server>
Next, a processing procedure of the relay server 103 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This flowchart is realized by, for example, a program stored in the HDD 244 being read into the RAM 243 and executed by the CPU 241.

  In step S1201, the CPU 241 determines whether the received data is a support start request. If it is a support start request, the process advances to step S1202, and the CPU 241 generates a session ID. Subsequently, in S1203, the CPU 241 stores the generated session ID in the HDD 244. In S1204, the CPU 241 transmits the session ID generated in S1202 to the client as a support start result. The client in the process of S1204 can be either the image forming apparatus 101 or the operator PC. When S1204 is completed, the process returns to S1201.

  If the received data is not a support start request in S1201, in S1205, the CPU 241 determines whether or not the received data is an image reception request. If the received data is an image reception request, the process advances to step S1206, and the CPU 241 acquires a session ID from the received data. When the acquisition of the session ID is completed, the process advances to step S1207, and the CPU 241 verifies whether the acquired session ID exists in the session ID list. When the verification is completed, in step S1208, the CPU 241 determines whether the acquired session ID exists in the session ID list based on the verification result in step S1207. If it is determined that it does not exist, the process returns to S1201. If it is determined that it exists, the process advances to step S1209, and the CPU 241 acquires data (image data) from the data buffer corresponding to the data in the session ID list in which the session ID acquired in step S1206 exists. When the data acquisition is completed, in S1210, the CPU 241 transmits the acquired data to the client. Specifically, the client in step S1210 is the image forming apparatus 101. When S1210 is completed, the process returns to S1201.

  If the data received in S1205 is not an image reception request, in S1211, the CPU 241 determines whether or not the received data is an image transmission request. If the request is an image transmission request, the process advances to step S1212, and the CPU 241 acquires a session ID from the received data. When the acquisition of the session ID is completed, in S1213, the CPU 241 verifies whether the acquired session ID exists in the session ID list. When the verification is completed, in S1214, the CPU 241 determines whether or not the acquired session ID exists in the session ID list based on the verification result. If it is determined that it does not exist, the process returns to S1201. On the other hand, if it is determined that it exists, the process advances to step S1215, and the CPU 241 acquires image data from the received data. Subsequently, in S1216, the CPU 241 stores the image data in the data buffer corresponding to the data in the session ID list where the session ID acquired in S1212 exists. The client that transmits this image data is specifically the operator PC 102. When S1216 is completed, the process returns to S1201.

  If the data received in S1211 is not an image transmission request, in S1217, the CPU 241 determines whether or not the received data is a support end request. If it is a support end request, the process advances to step S1218, and the CPU 241 acquires a session ID from the received data. When the acquisition of the session ID is completed, in step S1219, the CPU 241 deletes the acquired session ID from the session ID list. When the deletion is completed, in step S1220, the CPU 241 transmits a support end notification to the client. The client in the process of S1220 can be either the image forming apparatus 101 or the operator PC. When S1220 is completed, the process returns to S1201. If it is determined that the data received in S1217 is not a support end request, the process returns to S1201.

  As described above, the operator PC 102 that is the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment communicates with the image forming apparatus 101 via the relay server 103 and provides remote support to the image forming apparatus. is there. Specifically, the information processing apparatus accesses the relay server 103 and establishes a session for supporting the image forming apparatus 101. When the session is started, the information processing apparatus uses, as a virtual camera device, an image acquisition application that captures at least a part of the screen displayed on the display unit in the list of camera devices that acquire images. Add and display the list on the display. It may be determined whether to add an image acquisition application. In that case, the determination may be made according to the application using the camera device included in the list, or may be made by the current login user. In addition, a virtual camera device may be added as long as the application is preset by an operator as an application for adding a virtual camera device. Further, the information processing apparatus may control the camera device list to be limited to one when the camera device list is displayed on the display so that the camera devices included in the list can be selected. In addition, virtual camera devices that have not been added may be displayed in an unselectable manner. As described above, when the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the camera device and the virtual camera device as the image input apparatus, the image input apparatus that can be used is appropriately switched according to the application. Thereby, according to this embodiment, a remote assistance application can use a virtual camera device preferentially. That is, when the remote support application uses the virtual camera device, it is possible to avoid a situation where it is used by another application.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

  101: Image forming apparatus, 102: Operator PC, 103: Relay server, 104, 105: Firewall, 106: Network

Claims (10)

An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with an image forming apparatus via a relay server,
Establishing means for accessing the relay server to establish a session for supporting the image forming apparatus;
When the session is started by the establishing means, an image acquisition application for acquiring an image by capturing at least a part of a screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus in a list of camera devices for acquiring an image. Additional means to add as a virtual camera device;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a display control unit configured to display a list of the camera devices on the display unit so that a camera device included in the list can be selected. A determination unit for determining whether an application that uses the camera device selected from the camera device list is a remote support application that supports the image forming apparatus;
The additional means includes
When it is determined that the application that uses the camera device selected from the camera device list by the determination unit is the remote support application, the image acquisition application is added to the camera device list;
The image acquisition application is not added to the camera device list when the determination unit determines that the application using the camera device selected from the camera device list is not the remote support application. Item 4. The information processing apparatus according to Item 1. The additional means includes
If the determination unit determines that the application using the camera device selected from the camera device list is not the remote support application, the operator is asked whether to add the image acquisition application to the camera device list. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image acquisition application is added to a list of the camera devices according to an inquiry and an inquiry result. A setting unit configured to set an application that uses the image acquisition application;
The additional means includes
If the application that uses the camera device selected from the camera device list is an application set by the setting means, the image acquisition application is added to the camera device list,
2. The image acquisition application is not added to the camera device list unless an application using a camera device selected from the camera device list is an application set by the setting unit. The information processing apparatus described in 1. The additional means includes
If the application that uses the camera device selected from the camera device list is not the application set by the setting means, the operator is inquired whether to add the image acquisition application to the camera device list. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image acquisition application is added to the camera device list according to a result. The display control means includes
6. The information according to claim 1, wherein when the image acquisition application is not added to the list of camera devices by the adding unit, the image acquisition application is displayed in an unselectable manner. Processing equipment. The display control means includes
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is controlled so as to limit the selection of camera devices included in the camera device list to one.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition application is activated when the image acquisition application is selected via a list displayed by the display control unit. An information processing apparatus control method capable of communicating with an image forming apparatus via a relay server,
An establishing step of establishing a session for accessing the relay server and supporting the image forming apparatus;
When the session is started in the establishing step, an adding unit captures at least a part of a screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus in the list of camera devices from which the image is acquired, and acquires the image An additional step of adding an image acquisition application as a virtual camera device;
And a display control step of displaying a list of the camera devices on the display unit so that the camera devices included in the list can be selected. A program for causing a computer to execute each step in a control method of an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with an image forming apparatus via a relay server, wherein the control method includes:
An establishing step of establishing a session for accessing the relay server and supporting the image forming apparatus;
When the session is started in the establishing step, an adding unit captures at least a part of a screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus in the list of camera devices from which the image is acquired, and acquires the image An additional step of adding an image acquisition application as a virtual camera device;
A display control unit executes a display control step of displaying a list of the camera devices on the display unit so that a camera device included in the list can be selected.

Images